Post by Busgaljan on Feb 6, 2004 18:51:00 GMT -5
MUSIC INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE GRELUN LANDON DIES
Member of Elvis Presley's Inner Circle Remembered As
Influential Friend and Mentor
NASHVILLE, Tenn., February 6, 2004 - Grelun Landon, 80, a music industry
veteran who helped guide the career of Elvis Presley, and the longtime West
Coast Head of Publicity for RCA Records, died peacefully on February 2 in
Ojai, Calif.
Born in Marion, Ohio, on November 19, 1923, Landon served in World War II
and graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in
journalism. In the 1950s, as vice president with Hill &Range Music in New
York, he worked with many top stars of the Grand Ole Opry, including Hank
Snow and Johnny Cash. He was among the first to recognize the dimensions of
Elvis Presley's talent. Eight months after first hearing Presley perform at
the Jimmie Rodgers Festival in Meridian, Miss., Landon hosted a tour of New
York City for Presley when the young singer arrived to make his national
television debut.
A self-effacing legend at RCA Records for more than 20 year beginning in the
1960s, Landon demonstrated an uncanny ability to work with a diverse group
of artists, including Presley, Hall &Oates, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings
and Jefferson Airplane. Among his duties was the management of RCA's
relationship between Presley and his manager, Col. Tom Parker. Landon became
the trusted confidant of both men.
With Irwin Stambler, Landon co-authored Country Music: The Encyclopedia,
first published in 1969 and currently in its third edition. He served on a
National Academy of Recording Arts and Science (NARAS) selection committee
for the Grammy Awards.
Landon was an active trustee of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum
from 1971 to 1989. He served the Museum's Board of Officers and Trustees as
President in 1976 and held many other Board offices through the years. He
was named a Trustee Emeritus in 1996.
"Grelun Landon was among the first to understand the importance of building
our collection," said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Director Kyle
Young, who first joined the Museum staff while Landon was a Trustee. "Early
on, he had a vision for what the Museum could be and made important
contributions to our development as one of the premier popular culture
research centers in the world. He was a great friend to the Museum and an
inspiration to the staff."
In the '70s, in cooperation with Parker, Landon arranged for RCA Records'
donation of Elvis Presley's "Solid Gold" Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limousine to
the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum collection. Appointed with a
stereo, bar, shoeshine kit and other then-modern accoutrements, the car drew
large crowds when it toured nationally in the '60s during Presley's hiatus
from performing. Now on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum, it remains one of the institution's most popular exhibits. Other
important Museum acquisitions during Landon's tenure as a Trustee include
the mural Sources of Country of Music, the last work by American artist
Thomas Hart Benton; and the l5,000-disc collection of pre-World War II
country recordings from early collector and master discographer Bob Pinson.
The collection was insured for $l million for transport by tractor-trailer
from Los Angles to Nashville, and Landon generated a considerable publicity
for the cross-country trip. (The Museum's Pinson collection became the
foundation of what is now one of the world's largest and most significant
collections of recorded country music.)
Landon is remembered as a mentor and an inspiration to many young writers
and record company executives.
"He was the most generous of friends without ever calling attention to
himself," said Peter Guralnick, author of the Presley biographies Careless
Love and Last Train to Memphis. "In his own reserved and sometimes
inscrutable way, he was a true mentor, who taught by gesture and example."
Landon is survived by two daughters, Anne and Jennifer, son Christopher, and
three granddaughters, Miranda, Jessica and Kendra. Services are private.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Avenue South, Nashville, Tenn.
37203.
Member of Elvis Presley's Inner Circle Remembered As
Influential Friend and Mentor
NASHVILLE, Tenn., February 6, 2004 - Grelun Landon, 80, a music industry
veteran who helped guide the career of Elvis Presley, and the longtime West
Coast Head of Publicity for RCA Records, died peacefully on February 2 in
Ojai, Calif.
Born in Marion, Ohio, on November 19, 1923, Landon served in World War II
and graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in
journalism. In the 1950s, as vice president with Hill &Range Music in New
York, he worked with many top stars of the Grand Ole Opry, including Hank
Snow and Johnny Cash. He was among the first to recognize the dimensions of
Elvis Presley's talent. Eight months after first hearing Presley perform at
the Jimmie Rodgers Festival in Meridian, Miss., Landon hosted a tour of New
York City for Presley when the young singer arrived to make his national
television debut.
A self-effacing legend at RCA Records for more than 20 year beginning in the
1960s, Landon demonstrated an uncanny ability to work with a diverse group
of artists, including Presley, Hall &Oates, David Bowie, Waylon Jennings
and Jefferson Airplane. Among his duties was the management of RCA's
relationship between Presley and his manager, Col. Tom Parker. Landon became
the trusted confidant of both men.
With Irwin Stambler, Landon co-authored Country Music: The Encyclopedia,
first published in 1969 and currently in its third edition. He served on a
National Academy of Recording Arts and Science (NARAS) selection committee
for the Grammy Awards.
Landon was an active trustee of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum
from 1971 to 1989. He served the Museum's Board of Officers and Trustees as
President in 1976 and held many other Board offices through the years. He
was named a Trustee Emeritus in 1996.
"Grelun Landon was among the first to understand the importance of building
our collection," said Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Director Kyle
Young, who first joined the Museum staff while Landon was a Trustee. "Early
on, he had a vision for what the Museum could be and made important
contributions to our development as one of the premier popular culture
research centers in the world. He was a great friend to the Museum and an
inspiration to the staff."
In the '70s, in cooperation with Parker, Landon arranged for RCA Records'
donation of Elvis Presley's "Solid Gold" Cadillac Fleetwood 75 limousine to
the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum collection. Appointed with a
stereo, bar, shoeshine kit and other then-modern accoutrements, the car drew
large crowds when it toured nationally in the '60s during Presley's hiatus
from performing. Now on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum, it remains one of the institution's most popular exhibits. Other
important Museum acquisitions during Landon's tenure as a Trustee include
the mural Sources of Country of Music, the last work by American artist
Thomas Hart Benton; and the l5,000-disc collection of pre-World War II
country recordings from early collector and master discographer Bob Pinson.
The collection was insured for $l million for transport by tractor-trailer
from Los Angles to Nashville, and Landon generated a considerable publicity
for the cross-country trip. (The Museum's Pinson collection became the
foundation of what is now one of the world's largest and most significant
collections of recorded country music.)
Landon is remembered as a mentor and an inspiration to many young writers
and record company executives.
"He was the most generous of friends without ever calling attention to
himself," said Peter Guralnick, author of the Presley biographies Careless
Love and Last Train to Memphis. "In his own reserved and sometimes
inscrutable way, he was a true mentor, who taught by gesture and example."
Landon is survived by two daughters, Anne and Jennifer, son Christopher, and
three granddaughters, Miranda, Jessica and Kendra. Services are private.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Avenue South, Nashville, Tenn.
37203.